Things that make us go ohh – Wayne’s World Moriwaki Kawasaki Replica

Wayne Gardner arrived in Europe in 1981, he was pretty much an unknown rider from down under. Throughout that season he wrestled his Moriwaki Kawasaki to some impressive results around the UK, he would go on to bag a 500cc GP championship in 1987 riding for Honda.

That Moriwaki Kawasaki still inspires people to want to replicate it, some are more on point than others with their executions. This Wayne’s World rep is built around a later Z1000J model, the biggest visual giveaway are the square cam caps used by the later air cooled Zed 1000 and 1100 models. This bike stop me in my tracks, it’s been built with lots of love and plenty of funds. The original Z1000J frame is barely recognisable, it’s had more cuts than the NHS. The swing arm is from a Zephyr 1100, it looks well at home bolted up in that frankenstein frame. The smoothbore CR carbs dominate the engine bay, there’s something alluring about bell mouths on race carbs. Wayne’s bike never looked so shiny, it was built to go fast and win races. Every angle of this bike makes you smile, no matter how many times you walk around it. The bike is practically finished, it starts and runs but is awaiting an off set front sprocket to arrive, then the chain can go on and it will then be ready for business.